1.Technical Field
The present invention relates to paper that is used in an inkjet printer to record information, to an inkjet printer, and to a preliminary ejection method for an inkjet printer.
2.Related Art
Inkjet printers eject ink as droplets from plural nozzles in an inkjet head to record information on recording paper. If an inkjet printer is not used for a certain period of time, air bubbles can form in the nozzles and the viscosity of the ink can increase. Foreign matter such as paper dust from the recording paper can also collect around the nozzles. As a result, some inkjet printers eject ink at specific times to eliminate such causes of ink ejection problems. This operation is called preliminary ejection or flushing.
Serial inkjet printers in which the inkjet head moves perpendicularly to the conveyance direction of the recording paper, and inkjet printers that record information on cut-sheet paper, perform the preliminary ejection operation in an area outside the recording area of the recording paper or between sheets.
In order to increase the printing speed, inkjet line printers that record information on the recording paper using an inkjet head that is held stationary at the recording position and is wider than the recording area of the recording paper have also been introduced. Continuous paper is commonly used as the recording paper in this type of inkjet printer. To ensure that the preliminary ejection operation is performed, inkjet printers that provide a preliminary ejection area on the recording paper and perform the preliminary ejection operation into this preliminary ejection area have also been introduced. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2007-144792.
A problem with this type of inkjet printer, however, is that an unnecessary pattern is recorded on the recording paper, resulting in an undesirable appearance. In addition, because a concentrated amount of ink is ejected to eliminate the causes of ejection problems, the ink takes longer to dry than normal text and images, and the recording paper and parts along the conveyance path can become soiled. Particularly when the recording paper is label paper having labels continuously affixed to a web liner with a gap therebetween, glassine paper or other coated paper is used as the liner to improve separation of the labels from the liner. This exacerbates the problem.